Egyptian billionaire offers to buy island in Med for refugees

Egyptian telecoms giant Naguib Sawaris has offered to buy a Greek or Italian island to shelter Syrian refugees and others fleeing conflict.

"You have dozens of islands which are deserted and could accommodate hundreds of thousands of refugees," Sawaris said this week.

He estimated that the island itself would cost between $10mn and $100mn. The bulk of the project's costs would come from building new houses, hospitals and schools and other infrastructure, he said.